Satellite
by Ignira of Esperon
Summary: Months after the events of TLA, Sheba searches for answers about where she came from. At the same time, she finds herself going mad. Will she find answers before her mind unhinges itself completely?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: New Moon

IOE: Hey, everyone! Ignira of Esperon here with a little fic. This is yet another fic where I portray Sheba as someone just generally screwed up. If you like this portrayal of her, check out my one-shot of her, Destiny, which has a few things in it that are similar to this one. Well, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I, the author of this fanfiction, do not own Golden Sun.

Faran wiped beads of sweat from his brow as he opened the door to the house and left the comparatively cooler shade of the indoors to enter the blazing exterior. A babe was cradled in his arm securely. The little girl he held, who had been crying, now shrieked in the much hotter environment. Faran grabbed her with both arms and held her closer to him, shading her in his shadow.

"Sh," he whispered to her, and made his way across the yard to his wife, who was busying herself with the laundry, partially concealed by a sheet hanging on the clothesline. The tall, lanky woman was humming merrily to herself. He was cheered by the mere sight of her, even if the sheet made it partial. He lifted it up with one arm to see her oval, merry face that was glistening with perspiration. She was a little startled, but she recovered quick y at the sight of her husband and gave him a warm smile, brushing some dark hair out of her lovely face. He greeted her with a kiss.

"Hello," she said genially.

"Hello," he said back, stepping closer and dropping the sheet behind him. He held up the babe.

"I can't get her to sleep and she won't stop crying," he said.

She gently stroked her daughter's face, then wiped some sweat from her own.

"What are you doing trying to get her to sleep when she hasn't eaten yet? She's probably hungry for lunch," she said, and then kissed him.

"You have more of a touch with them when they're older, I think, Faran," she said, and then began to walk towards the house, "Right, I'll make lunch. I'm starving and the shade of the house ought to be a bit nicer."

He followed her.

"Need any help?" he asked.

"If you could just play with her while I cook, it should calm her down a little," she said, and then glanced around the yard. "Where are the children?"

"Jacob and Anna are at your brother's house, playing with our niece. Sheba is missing, as usual," he sighed. His wife opened the door for him, and together they entered their house. Their baby was still crying.

"Here," his wife said, and he gently set the babe in her arms. She carried her over to a chair where she sat down and proceeded to breastfeed.

"Well, we both know she can protect herself, so I'm not worried." said his wife, referring to Sheba.

"Yes," he said.

"But I don't understand why she just disappears like that. What does she do? Is she bored? Lonely? Are the townspeople bothering her?" she wondered aloud.

"Rachel," he said, "I thought you said you weren't worried." He sat down, too.

"Well, I'm not worried about her _physically_," she replied, "Aren't you worried about Sheba?"

He sighed.

"I know she loves us and her people very much," he said, "but she's lonely. She finally found out why she was special and met other people like her. She made friends and traveled the world. She saved the world. Now she's back to the way things were, only she knows she is no god. The only people who are like her, who also call her 'friend', are far away."

He knew his daughter. Though Sheba had told them in detail about her quest when she first came home and had been quite talkative, that demeanor had waned. He'd noticed how lately, she'd been distant and melancholy frequently, though sometimes she would adopt a chipper, affectionate manner, but soon after withdraw to depression. He would frequently see her sighing and, he suspected though he did not have the power to see, practicing Psynergy by herself outside.

"Mmm," replied Rachel. The baby was satisfied. His wife buttoned her shirt back up and rocked the infant. Faran scooted his chair to be closer to his beloved wife and darling youngest.

"Do you suppose she found out anything about her family while she was abroad?" Rachel asked softly.

"She hasn't said anything. I think that must upset her some, as well. She went all over the world and came back still not knowing where she came from," he said thoughtfully. He sighed.

"Poor child," sighed Rachel, "That must make her fell alone. But she has us. And we love her very much, don't we?"

He smiled at his wife and nodded. He rested his head on her shoulder and watched the infant fall asleep in his lovely mother's arms.

"I'll put her to bed," he whispered to his wife, "You can start lunch. Let me know when to fetch the children."

He carefully received the baby daughter into his arms.

"Do you think she met someone? As you've reminded twice, she's been all over the world, and what with all those men she met and spent so much time with…and she is pretty…" said Rachel with her back turned as she set about the kitchen. Faran carefully stood up, babe in arms.

"I have no idea. And it's not really our business," he said, and meandered towards the crib.

As he set his youngest in, he could've sworn he heard something that sounded like a low "Hmph" from his wife.

-----

There had been someone, little did the couple know it, but their foster child preferred not to think about her.

The sky was almost cloudless. It stretched on and on for miles, an expansive blue blanket covering the earth. Right now, it was her blanket. The hot sun blared into her green eyes, so she rested a hand halfway over eyes to shield them.

There she was, the 15-year-old Wind Sorceress, so-called "child of the gods", lying on her back, sunning herself on a secluded ledge of Babi's abandoned project. Her staff was on the ground beside her, safe from the edge. Her blonde hair fanned out on the rose-colored stone. Her legs dangled off of the ledge that overlooked the ocean waters to the north of Lalivero. She'd been here for hours, alone with her staff and the sky, thinking and occasionally drifting off.

It had occurred to her that the Laliverans would be wondering, perhaps worried, about where she was, but she wanted to be alone. Their reverence disgusted her a bit. When she did return, she knew no one would say anything to her about her continuing habit of disappearing on her own, other than perhaps Faran, because they felt it was not their place. Some time ago, she would have been satisfied with this, but now it irritated, even sickened her. Sometimes she wondered if it was because she didn't care to be worshipped as a false god anymore, or because (and if this was true, she would hate herself for it) a part of her was fine with allowing the villagers to continue to see her as something greater than themselves. Sheba hated the person she used to be, who believed she was divine, who, she reflected, was spoiled, arrogant, and delusional. She snorted and sat up.

The ocean waters north of the lighthouse glimmered in the sunlight. Sheba was filled with a desire to be near them, to swim in the waves. She stretched. Perhaps she would later. She kicked out her legs and leaned forward a little to peer over the ledge. The landscape below looked miniature from this height. The drop from here would kill. She wondered how many times she could fall from astounding heights and survive.

-------

She let her staff drag a bit on the ground as she made her way towards her house, at the end of the dirt road. She knocked on the door politely before letting herself in. Inside, Faran was seated at the table, finishing up what looked like lunch. Her stomach growled. He looked up.

"My child!" he exclaimed, rising from his chair to greet her with a warm embrace. She hugged him in return and inhaled his scent. The embrace ended.

"Where have you been today?" he asked her. She shrugged.

"Here, there. High up on Babi lighthouse. I napped, I enjoyed the scenery. When will we tear that sore sight down?" she asked.

"Considering how we Laliveroans feel, it shouldn't be too long before it's taken down. I suppose we're waiting for the more temperate part of the year so we don't suffer so much from the heat," he said, and then grabbed a plate. He piled what was left of lunch onto her plate.

When he turned to Sheba to give her the lunch, Sheba could see that Faran was getting older. His sandy hair was starting to gray and thin, his face was beginning to line. How had he gotten so much older while she had been gone? Had she really been away from him for so long? Or had he been aging all this time, and she, having been a child, simply frozen the way he looked?

She accepted the plate and thanked him. They sat down at the table together. Faran explained that she had missed lunch with the rest of the family, and now Rachel was doing the laundry while the children went off to play, leaving him and the baby alone.

"Are you upset that I did not eat at the same time as the rest of the family?" she asked quietly. While Sheba loved her family, she felt very separate from them, though she was not as separate from Faran. Faran seemed to understand her somehow, some way. He smiled warmly and shook his head.

"How were you supposed to know when your family was eating? No, you want time alone to think, and that's fine if you miss out on eating with us," he said kindly, and then spoke softer: "You haven't been yourself lately."

"I know," she said, and felt a little guilty that Faran was noticing it. She didn't want him to worry. She hadn't been feeling too much like herself lately, though sometimes she regained a bit of herself. Melancholy and a pervading loneliness hung over her like a cloud for most of the time, however. Sometimes she would lose herself entirely, but she didn't think Faran had seen these episodes yet. She put those times from her mind; they frightened her.

"Rachel asked me today if I think you've met a man. Are you lovesick?" he jested, grinning.

Sheba knew he meant well, but this only made her insides tighten. She'd met someone, felt strong feelings for someone incredible, but it was not what Rachel would expect. It drove her mad. She wasn't sure if she was so much 'lovesick' as simply lonely. She missed all of her friends, the connections to who she really was, but how could she miss this one, singular person the most? Faran was to know none of this. No one was.

"Don't mock me, Faran," she said instead, managing a smile.

"If anything troubles you, you know you can come to me, Sheba," said Faran gently.

She smiled. She had always felt that Faran was her father, always, no matter who was actually responsibly for her existence. She knew Faran cared for her as much as she did for him, if not more, but he was not the same person--to her--that he used to be. She hated to admit it, but he would always be a stranger to her world, where she belonged. She was isolated from everyone here in Lalivero, even Faran, and she hated it.

"I know," she said, "Don't worry about me, Faran. I'll be fine eventually."

-----

"_How often have these episodes been happening?"_

More and more every day.

"_What happens to you?"_

I can't remember very clearly afterwards, like it was a dream. I don't really know what happens. When I come back, sometimes I'm not where I remember being a second ago.

"_Is anyone with you?"_

I'm always alone.

"_Any idea what could be causing it?"_

…

"_I said—"_

No.

"_That sounds awful."_

I'm scared.

"_I would be, too. You should tell someone."_

I'm telling you. Are you afraid of me?

"…_no. You're just…sick, I guess. That's nothing for me to be afraid of. It's something for me to worry about. I'm worried about you."_

That's…very kind. It-it really means a lot coming from you.

_"Yes…"_

I miss you. A lot. More than everyone else.

_"Sheba, I miss you, too, but not like that. You can't miss me like that, either. Stop it."_

You know, I think I've always been sick. I think I can get better again if I'm back with you…uh, that is, a-all of you again. I need to be with other people like me. I was fine when we were together. Uh, by 'we', I meant…meant all of us.

_"Good. Well, if you think that'll help, why not visit us or something? We'd be happy to see you."_

And hey, listen, what I said about missing you—

_"SHEBA. STOP."_

---

It annoyed her that occasionally she'd even—how embarrassing—have imaginary conversations, all of which ended with an argument or her saying or doing something stupid. It confused her that she couldn't even fantasize properly. She sighed.

"I have got to get out of here before I angst myself to death," she said to herself, "So, I'm leaving tonight."

If only she'd had the Teleport Lapis or a boat to herself. Sure, the Laliveroans would be happy to give their messiah a boat of her own, but she didn't want to take advantage of them. She didn't know where exactly she was going to go or for how long, but she knew she had to escape from Lalivero, at least for a little while.

_This is stupid, but I'm going to do it anyway._ What would she say to Faran? She shrunk from the idea of making him worry about her and…after all, hadn't he just told her earlier that he understood if she had to disappear on her own for a little while? She rolled off her bed.

She had a room to herself in Faran's house. It was large enough to fit more beds in, if she'd wanted to for some reason. The wooden floor was cool to her touch. She was lying on her stomach. She reached under her bed and felt around the odd objects under it until she was certain her fingers were grasping her old bag. She pulled it out. It still smelled like the sea air after all that time at sea on Piers' ship. She smiled and hugged it to her chest.

Once all of her packing was done, she headed downstairs and grabbed everything edible she could find. She had to be careful; Faran and Rachel slept with the baby in the next room. Turnips, two loaves of bread, and three papayas were stuffed in for food. She tried to make as little noise in the kitchen as possible. She set her staff on the ground and opened the back door. Sheba squinted in the darkness, trying to make out the well in the yard.

There was not a beam of moonlight tonight. She carefully walked across the yard in the dark, feeling the moist soil with her sandals, careful to trip or step on anything sharp. She felt guilty for disrupting the garden beds, but she didn't want to risk waking anyone up by searching for and lighting an oil lamp. Eventually, arms outstretched, she was fondling something made of metal. This was it. Carefully, she pulled out her old canteen and proceeded to fill it with water as silently as possible, but the damned chain on the well's bucket creaked. She held her breath and listened for any sounds of stirring, but all she would hear was cicadas.

Canteen filled, she hooked it onto her bag. She had to go back inside to get her staff. She backtracked to the backdoor and opened it. Her feet felt the dirt floor for her beloved staff when she heard a soft clearing of the throat, and she was so startled she let out a yelp.

"Sheba? I heard the back door. What are you doing?" she heard Faran's voice from the kitchen table. She took a deep breath.

"I…uh, I've just decided…." She said slowly.

"Decided what?" asked Faran.

"I'm going away. Not forever, I mean, but for a little while," she said.

"Sheba," Faran's voice was harsh, but quiet so that he wouldn't wake the people in the next room, "You were planning on running away without saying anything? What has gotten into you?"

"F-Faran, I'm sorry," she said.

"Sheba, if there's something wrong, you can tell us about it. Don't be selfish and leave like this without telling the people who love you. We already had to endure not knowing where you were, if-if you were even _alive_ when Venus…" his voice was shaking a bit. Sheba had never seen Faran like this…or rather heard, for he was concealed in shadow. She hated herself. What the hell had she been doing, abandoning her family without a word in the dead of night? She was as selfish as she'd been in the days when she enjoyed being worshipped as the child of the gods.

She moved through the dark towards where his voice was coming from. She drew in a sharp breath when she banged her knee on the kitchen table, but soon she found Faran's hand and squeezed it. He was sitting down. She found his shoulders and hugged him.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. He hugged her back, a little more tightly than usual. Was he crying? She hugged him tighter, too. She knew he wanted her to stay. She could've waited until morning, but she was much too eager to leave from this place now, not later.

"I'm leaving now. Don't worry; I'll be back. And I won't be gone for as long as last time," she said, hoping what she said was true.

She heard him draw in a breath as though he was about to speak, but he said nothing. Sheba let go and made her way to the door again. It occurred to her that she needn't worry about leaving in secret anymore. She reached into her bag and pulled out a torch, then lit it with a tinderbox. She heard Faran get up from his seat and return to his bedroom. Torch lit, she put away the tinderbox, opened the back door, and stepped into the night once more.

---

She'd been walking for hours into the night. The sky was beginning to become pink behind her, but Sheba was racing the dawn for now. She did not know why she'd walked all through the night and felt no desire to consider how much longer she would walk until she would stop. There were a lot of things that she'd been doing lately for reasons not entirely sensible to her; the current journey, for instance. She was hardly tired now; she felt rather numb, actually, perhaps because her mind was entirely focused on moving.

The road wound into the mountains that concealed the Suhulla desert. She had plenty of water to go through; she hadn't touched her canteen this whole time. She searched the skies for any sign of the moon, recalled that it had been absent the night before, but looked for it anyway.

Afterwards, she would not remember what had happened after she'd reached the desert, except, for a brief moment, unbridled joy as she let the winds and dust swirl about her.

---

She had been lying in bed at the village inn for the past few days, bewildered and confused, but unable to leave her bed for fear of aggravating her injuries. The local Healer had managed to attend to her injuries, which had included various gashes and multiple fractures in her ribs and limbs, the worst being her left arm. Her left arm was now hanging in a sling at her side. There were a few bandages on her ribs now, but they were concealed by her clothing. Other than the Healer, Sheba had seen no one other than the inn's cook to bring her meals, but glimpses of him were very brief. The Healer, she had learned, knew nothing of why she was there, but only knew that she had arrived unconscious. Once, Sheba managed to snatch a thought from him, which led her to this woman's house. This woman, Sheba learned, had found Sheba several days ago unconscious and had immediately run her to the inn.

---

"Mind Read," she whispered.

Images flowed into her head, memories as though they were her own. _There was a teenaged girl, flying high above the ground, carried on by the high winds, dust flying everywhere and dirtying her hair and robes. She, unlike the debris flying beside her as fellow passengers on the powerful gusts of the Suhulla, was not being wildly whipped around, but rather looked like she was riding an invisible wave on her stomach, limbs outstretched, a wingless angel with an expression that would chill any observer's blood. Her face was a disturbing portrait of demented delight, somehow a twisted parody of a child's elation. Her green eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open in a huge grin, letting out peals of uncontrollable laughter. _

_As she neared the edge of the mountain range, she seemed to pay special attention to a cliff face, or was it something on the cliff face? She glanced at the safe ground, where it would be reasonable to guess that with such control of the winds she rode, she might've landed unharmed. She then focused her attention on the cliff face once more, looking as excited as a child about to do something particularly amusing, and she made a quick dive for the rock, as if torpedoing through water, then outstretched her limbs once more, as though making to embrace an invisible figure on the rock. With a sickening smacking noise, the angel's body smashed onto the rock. She fell lifeless to the ground, and the joy ride on the air was finished. _

_The watcher hastened to the spot, screaming. As she neared the body and leaned close, she saw that the girl was not dead. She was lying on her back, her left arm bent at a horribly unnatural angle, and a cut bled down her face. She was giggling so hard that she could not speak, could hardly breathe, it appeared, and as her green eyes met the spectator, she controlled her cachinnation. She closed her eyes then, and was limp._

_---_

Sheba was not dead. She was standing in a stranger's bedroom in the dead of night. Her hand, now covered with cold sweat, was resting on the woman's forehead as she slept. Sheba swiftly withdrew her hand, and stood there, shaking. Her stomach churned horribly, and she felt the blood rushing from her head. She used all of her might to suppress the vomit struggling to leave her system.

The images Sheba had gathered from the woman still burned in her mind. She felt weak. She was very pale. She couldn't suppress the sick any longer; she raced out of the house and promptly vomited in the dirt. The spasms would not subside for a few moments, but her stomach was empty. She tried to take deep breaths in order to quell the dry heaves.

"What's happening to me?" she whispered between wretches. Tears streamed down her face.

At that moment, she felt more alone than ever. There was an enemy that she could not understand. She was sick, so sick. What was she going to do? What _could_ she do? What exactly was wrong with her?

She finally managed to control her spasms. She was breathing short, shallow breaths, panicking. Without warning, she sprinted off-- to where, she did not know. In seconds, she was out of the village and in the wild again, her feet carrying her farther and farther away. She finally stopped by a river after a while, panting heavily, legs burning from the sudden burst. It was hard to run with your arm in a splint. Her wounds hurt again, but they weren't bleeding. Her lungs burned. She struggled to catch her breath.

Where would she go? She had to go somewhere. It was too dangerous to be alone with herself, but if she was with other people, was she a danger to them? Her mind whirled. She was sick of being alone. Didn't she leave Lalivero because she wanted to escape her melancholy? She had suspected that she was going mad before, but now she had confirmed her suspicions with the worst episode she had ever known. Where could she go now? She was isolated from everyone.

_I don't want to be alone anymore. I want to be safe…_ She felt like a child. The world felt like an empty void to her. She'd never felt such a strong desire for companionship, for comfort. She bent towards the river's water to wash her face and mouth. Her throat was now burning terribly from the regurgitation. The water was cool. She let it run down her face and mingle with her salty tears. She took a deep breath and tried to suppress a sob. She cupped her hands and scooped some water, then gargled it, trying to rinse her burning throat. She spit out the water in the grass and repeated the process several more times until she felt better. She was still having trouble breathing properly, and was still shaking. She bent over the water again and tried to see her reflection in the water. She could only see a silvery reflection of the tiny sliver of moon that was out tonight.

And suddenly, it came to her. She knew exactly where she wanted to be. She was still afraid of herself, still afraid of being alone, and now afraid of how her friends might react of she relapsed, but screw it. She wanted to feel like she was home again, and she'd never felt more at home than with her friends.

She had to push away a memory that resurfaced then. The warmth of someone else's lips meeting hers, soft skin touching hers. It hurt to think about it.

Her bags and—she felt as though she'd lost a good friend when she realized—her beloved staff were probably scattered about the Suhulla desert. She had nothing but these clothes now. She wore a battered, dirty robe over a simple cotton dress. She kicked off her sandals, which were so worn and broken in places that they were barely functional, and sat on the bank, letting her legs drift in the chilling water.

The hell with it. She was going to Vale. She was going to see them again; Isaac, Garet, Felix.

She was going to see Jenna again.

----

Isaac was full to bursting. He wondered if he would manage to make it to his house--a short walk away, though it was-- without exploding. He was sitting at the large, oaken dining table where he had just enjoyed a dinner fit to be a feast with his best friend and his family. All in all, it had been an enjoyable evening, but it was rather late and Garet's mother had once again caused Isaac to overeat. He groaned and leaned back in his chair, allowing his arms to fall at his sides. He despised himself for being to polite to refuse the extra helpings of food offered to him.

"You look so defeated," chuckled Garet, entering from the kitchen. He apparently had just finished helping his family with the dishes. Isaac had politely offered to help, and was happy to be refused, for he hadn't wanted to stand up if he could help it. Isaac groaned again and scooted back his chair. His long legs stretched out across the floor and he slouched.

"I think your mum's out to get me," he told him. Garet grinned. Isaac lifted his arms, zombie-like.

"Help me up," he said pathetically.

His friend obliged, firmly grasping Isaac's arms and helping him to his feet.

"Think you can make it to your house?" he asked. Isaac nodded.

"See you tomorrow," he said, yawning.

Outside, it was very dark. A cool breeze blew through the air, lifting some of Isaac's messy dirty blonde hair out of his face. He was beginning to feel tired now. He rounded a corner of his house, now almost completely rebuilt, to see a pair of long legs clad in boots dangling over his front door. He blinked at them blearily.

"What's a pair of legs doing hanging over my door? Whose are these?" he asked aloud, almost certain he knew. One of the legs kicked him. He looked up to see a tall, pretty girl with long, thick auburn hair holding several pieces of paper in her hands. She grinned at him.

"Hey, it's me," said Jenna, "I've been waiting for you. Thought you'd never get back."

"What're you holding?" he asked, pointing at the papers in her hands.

"You don't recognize it?" she asked, holding them up tantalizingly.

"Is that the letter I forgot at your house this morning?" he asked. She nodded.

"The envelope accidentally unsealed itself, I suppose?" he asked.

"Felix did it," she said, and he knew she was lying.

"Come down here and gimme that," he said, motioning, "It's from Mia."

Jenna looked at the letter in her hands.

"Want to know what's in it? Mia says it's very frustrating being in the middle of a love triangle between you and Garet," she said then added thoughtfully, "Actually, it's more like a square if you include Alex."

"Jenna, give me the letter," he repeated.

"Fine, fine," she said, "You know, she'd never write stuff like that to you. She writes all about it in her letters to me, though."

"Enough joking," he said.

"Fine. Turn around; my skirt's gonna fly up when I jump off," she instructed, and he did what he was told. He heard a thump behind him and a rustle of paper. He turned to see Jenna dusting off her skirt. She thrust the letters in his hands.

"Here you go," she said with a self-satisfied smirk.

Isaac folded up the letters and put them in his pocket.

"You know, everyone wrote for a few weeks after they went to their respective homes for a while--well, except Mia keeps writing. Anyway, everyone but Sheba wrote after they left Vale. She must be really enjoying herself in Lalivero," he said carefully, watching his friend's expression. She raised an eyebrow and her smile seemed to falter a little.

"What makes you bring that up all of a sudden?" she asked him. He shrugged.

"Just remembered because of Mia's letter," he replied.

"Oh," she said.

"Moon's little, but pretty tonight," he changed the subject, pointing to the crescent behind them. Her smile faltered a little more.

"I hate the moon," she said casually, tossing her hair and starting off towards her house.

They waved good-bye to each other and Isaac crept into his house, up the stairs, and, at long last, into his bed.

---

IOE: Well, that's the end of the first chapter! Still more to come! And though this chapter was mostly focused on Sheba, we'll narrate for other characters, too. Hmm, this wasn;t really the sort of ending I susally do…not sure if I'm happy with it. So, a little backstory for this: I was itching to ship ShebaJenna and wondered if I could christen it. I checked Golden Sun wikia and was disappointed to find it was not listed! So, I checked fanfiction and searched for a romance genre starring Sheba and Jenna. To my surprise, only one fic came up! What? I thought Sheba and Jenna would be great together! So, I christen this pairing strawberry shipping, after the one fic I found and I guess because you might get strawberry blonde if you mix their hair colors. Special thanks to Strawberry's author, LittleLinor,­­ for letting me do this!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Waxing Crescent

IOE: Hey, everyone! Chapter Two's here! This is the first time I've updated during the school year! I hope I can keep this up! LittleLinor, thanks so much for reviewing! I'm relieved to hear that you like angsty Sheba! Weee! Oh, um, for this chapter, in case you think there's an inconsistency, the first scene or so from Jenna's POV happened several hours before what's happening to Sheba. The later ones are about at the same time of day that Sheba's in. Sorry. Here we go! Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun. Aw yeah.

---

"I'm going to need supplies," she said, lifting her legs out of the water. Now that her bags and her dear staff were gone, she needed to replace them. Now that she knew where she was going, though, she probably didn't need as much stuff as she'd packed back in Lalivero. She slipped her sandals back on. She definitely needed to replace these.

_Let's see…I'll need food, water…_ She started listing things in her head. It was a good distraction from her fear and anxiety, until she realized—

"Shit. I have no money," she said. She took a deep breath. Could she make it all the way to Vale with what she had?

_I guess I could just hunt my food. Felix did that when we had no money._

She thought. She could probably hunt and start a fire without a tinderbox. A change of clothes would be nice, but she had none. Still, she remembered going days without changing when she was first traveling with Felix, too. She looked at her sandals. No way would those last until Vale, and no way was she going that distance barefoot. _I guess I'll have to steal some. I won't steal food, though, especially not from a poor desert town like Suhulla._ That seemed to be all she needed.

It suddenly occurred to her how she might look when she saw Jenna again. She'd be disheveled, smelly, and dirty. How humiliating. Still, it couldn't be helped.

_When should I go?_ It was very dark out. The time to steal a decent pair of shoes was now. She stood up. Her legs dripped on the grass. The night was hot, so the coolness of the water on her legs didn't bother her much. She made her way back to the village. It was a long walk. She must've sprinted a long ways. She felt stupid.

_You can't run away from yourself._ She swallowed, the images from the woman's mind coming back to her again. Fear gripped her again, cold as ice. She'd deliberately inflicted injuries on herself back in the desert. She forced herself not to think about it. She was helpless should whatever came over her happen again, but that was a worse thought than the fact that she had done this to herself.

The small, stone, flat-roofed buildings were of similar architecture to the ones back in Lalivero. A low wind whistled through the silent village. Sheba kicked up some dust. Where should she go? She decided not to return to the woman's house; it gave her a chilling feeling. She instead decided to re-enter the inn. She hopped over the stream that embraced the village and made her way to the inn.

She gently pressed on the wood door, hoping it wouldn't creak or drag on the ground. It silently opened. Sheba crept inside, holding her breath. She could barely make out the desk for the innkeeper and the now cold stove. She passed by the room she'd been in for the past few days and headed towards a door in the corner. She carefully opened it as slowly as possible. It creaked and she froze, listening. She heard someone shift in their sleep on the other side of the door, then heard snoring. She breathed a sigh of relief and managed to open the door just enough so that she could squeeze through.

The innkeeper's wife was fast asleep in bed. Sheba wondered where her husband was; the bedding where he ought to be was dragged to the edge of the bed, as though someone had slipped out. Sheba worried that the innkeeper might come back from wherever he was soon. At the foot of the bed were the woman's sandals. She felt a pang of guilt; there was only one pair. She slipped off her own sandals and tried on the prospective new ones. The sandals were a little big, but they'd do. She left her old sandals behind, feeling guilty for leaving behind poor shoes, and tiptoed out of the inn.

She was back on track, now with a purpose to her walking when a few days before, she'd been aimless. After some time, she was back at the river. She followed it for some time. Suhulla was far behind her. The sun was beginning to rise. There was a pink tinge to the eastern skies. Sheba stopped. She'd been unable to bathe while in bed back at the inn. There was still sand from the desert in odd places. She began to strip.

She folded her clothes neatly and set them on the bank, and slipped into the water. It was a little too cold, but she could stand it. The current was fine. The water made peaceful, babbly noises as it made its way south. She could barely stand, standing on her tiptoes so her neck was above water. She didn't want to wet her face just yet. Eventually, she splashed some water on her face and leaned against the bank of the river. It was peaceful oblivion, just the current and her. She wanted to fall asleep, but knew it would be dangerous, should her head slip under the water.

Sheba climbed out of the water and sat, still naked, on the bank opposite her clothes. Behind her were the woods. She didn't mind being nude for now; the road, she knew, was far off from this part of the river and it was very early, so it was unlikely that she would be spotted.

Just as she was thinking this, she heard a rustling noise behind her and her blood ran cold. She slowly turned towards the noise, bright red in the face.

It was only a doe. She was beautiful and docile, silently and cautiously approaching the water to drink. Sheba smiled and relaxed. She enjoyed the doe's presence. She was only a few paces away from her. She sat very still and watched the doe drink. The doe was so docile and sweet, her big, round eyes so gentle and her body so thin and feminine. A strange calm came over her.

And suddenly the serenity of the moment was gone and three arrows shot, one after the other, through the air and landed in the doe's back.

Sheba watched with horror as the deer's eyes widened with shock and the doe began to panic. She tried to lift herself, but the pain was too great. Her ragged breaths were soft as whispers, her chest working to breathe. Blood trickled all over. Her little mouth was slightly opened as she made desperate noises and then, after what felt to Sheba like hours, the doe's eyes glazed over and she was limp.

Sheba felt nauseous. Her vision swam as she peered in the direction where the three arrows had come from, forgetting she had no clothes on. A young man, perhaps Jenna's age, stood about three-quarters of the way between the river and the woods. A quiver was strapped to his back, and a bow was held at his side. He stood tall, at about Jenna's height, and had close-cut hair. His skin was tan and his clothes were light; he was clearly from Suhulla. He appeared to be in mid-pace. Apparently, he had been striding toward the deer until he saw Sheba, to whom he gaped at, clearly surprised.

Her head was swimming. Sheba was filled with rage; it burned at her insides. How would it be if she struck him with as many lightning bolts as he had struck the deer? It would be so easy, so fitting. She should feel her Psynergy building up, preparing for an unleashing.

At the same time, she was fading in and out…what was happening?

The young man was struggling to form words, somewhere between humored and embarrassed. Sheba suddenly remembered that she was naked, and her rage mixed with humiliation.

She felt herself leave the moment, then come back again. She wanted to slide back into the river and hide, but it was too late. She looked to the poor doe again, as if looking for what to do.

There was nothing, and then her vision came back. There was a lifeless, bloody heap by the river. Blood was flowing into the river, contaminating the clear water.

And suddenly, Sheba felt as if she was watching this scene in the air. What the Hell was going on in her head?

The Suhullan was starting to say something, but Sheba wasn't listening. She was filled with anger again, but it felt like she was filled with rage about something else. What could it be? She whipped her head around from the deer, back to this bastard who stood here, who had the gall to speak to her.

Barks filled the air as several hunting dogs joined him and began to run for the fallen prey. Another man began to join them. She was so aware of her power now. She was filled with the power of Jupiter, so conscious of the fact that she could kill them all with the greatest of ease. Her blue Psynergy aura swirled. The dogs were hurtling towards the corpse.

"Shine Plasma!" she snarled, but she wasn't entirely in control of her speech.

_NO!_ she was screaming in her head as the words left her lips. _What am I doing? _

----

Jenna quietly closed the door behind her and tiptoed across the wooden floor, taking care to avoid the planks she was sure would creak. Now that the house was rebuilt, she had to memorize creaky stairs and floorboards all over again. How inconvenient. Unfortunately, she was not the most graceful in the dark, and so bumped into one, two, three of the kitchen chairs.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" she swore under her breath every time her knee collided with wood. She slid into the table, losing her balance a bit. She wondered if anyone had woken up yet as she reached out to catch herself on the table. Her hand bumped the metal candleholder that was usually set on the table.

"OK, this is stupid," she whispered, and grabbed the candleholder. As she held it close to her, she could tell by the weight that there was still a candle in it. Jenna held the candleholder close to her face, concentrated so that she wouldn't overdo it, and whispered:

"Flare."

As if her whisper had lit it, a little flame on the wick shed some light, enough for Jenna to see her way back up the stairs and into her room. Jenna smiled; if she'd overdone it, she might've singed her nose, and that would have sucked, she concluded.

She made her way into the first door on the left on the second floor and made for her bed, exhausted. She set the candle on her nightstand and climbed into bed, shirking the idea of undressing.

As she set her head on her pillow, she heard footsteps in the hall and held her breath. She could tell they were Felix's. Damn. The footsteps paused in front of her door. Their maker turned and entered.

"Jenna, what were you doing up so late?" her brother asked quietly.

"Oh, you know, sleeping around. That's what you always suspect whenever I come to bed late," she said humorously.

He did not reply. She could make out his tall shape in the darkness.

"I was just giving Isaac the letter he left at our house this morning. I had to sit on his roof and wait for him to get home from dinner at Garet's. Man, that family eats a lot at late hours. Isaac's probably going to wake up twice his weight tomorrow," Jenna joked.

"You waited that late just to give him a letter?" Jenna hated the tone in Felix's voice. Older siblings were so annoying when it came to interactions with the opposite sex.

"I'm over him, Felix. I've been over him since Contigo. I wanted to give him the letter—_Mia's _letter-- as soon as I realized he'd left it because I know how much it would mean to him to think about Mia before going to sleep. I can't believe the idiot left it behind, considering how much she means to him," she said a little irritably.

She knew the feeling. The feeling of absolute joy and wonder as all you can think about as sleep slowly takes you is that face, that heart-shaped face, that golden hair, and those startlingly green eyes full of mystery.

_How could she have ever thought of anyone so fondly, especially that boy who would so clearly only be a good friend and nothing more, who was clearly falling for the quiet, feminine girl with the long, blue hair? Seeing him again, after so many months of inventing that fake person and those stupid fantasies, had made her finally see how she really felt. It was almost laughable, a childish fancy that was buried in the past as this new fascination gripped her._

"Contigo?" he asked. Jenna wanted to throttle him and his stupid tone, then resume falling asleep uninterrupted. She knew what he was implying. It was annoying how much Felix could say with little words sometimes.

_The two Adepts sat together alone. The evening had been wonderful; reunited, all of the Adepts had celebrated together all night, and now she was with Sheba, who had just told her that she felt the same way for Jenna. It was almost like a dream. The night was quiet, so wonderfully quiet, as it struck them, a pleasant surprise that they had no idea they had been saving for each other. It seemed an awkward moment for that girl, but for this one it could only be exciting._

"Yeah, Contigo," she said, her irritation growing. Felix gave one of those long sighs that usually warned of an annoying older sibling speech.

_It would sound stupid to say that Contigo was now her favorite city. It would definitely ruin the moment, but it was the first thought in her head, and she smiled at it. Sheba seemed to have seen her smile and smiled a little uneasily herself._

_"Strange, isn't it?" she asked quietly. Jenna shrugged._

_"What, 'cause we're women? I don't care," she said. What was going to happen now? She was so excited thinking about it, almost like Christmas Eve._

_Sheba stared into the distance. A soft breeze teased her blonde hair. In the moonlight, the Jupiter Adept's face had never been so…._

"_You've got some hair in your face," she said, seizing the opportunity to touch that face. This was silly because Sheba had bangs, so of course they'd be on her face. Jenna reached anyway, and her hand touched that hair, that forehead. The blonde hair was tucked carefully behind the ear. Reluctantly, her hand left Sheba. There was silence. She could sense Sheba's nervousness and excitement. The Jupiter Adept was making an effort not to look at Jenna, but a girlish smile had crept on her fair face. Jenna understood. Sheba needed some space to celebrate with herself._

"_We should turn in," said Jenna, "It's so late. We must be the last ones up."_

_The question danced around in her head to walk with Sheba to the room, or let her come by herself. Their rooms were right next to each other, after all. Sheba answered it._

"_You go ahead. I'll see you tomorrow, Jenna," she said quietly, now looking at the Mars Adept instead of avoiding it. Her smile was so genuine, so calm now. It was beautiful. Jenna's heart leapt._

"Felix, I genuinely had a romance with a girl. Would you get over it? Everyone else has. I was happy, and so was she, or at least that's what I thought. There was nothing about experimenting in order to get over someone, or anything like that. Anything else you want to bother me about, or can you let me get some sleep?" she said waspishly.

The shape swelled at first, as if her brother would reply angrily, but then it collapsed and the figure disappeared. The footsteps made their way into the bedroom down the hall.

Jenna rolled over on her side and stared at her scarlet bedroom wall. Her room still smelled a little like paint. She knew that if she thought about Sheba, she wouldn't be able to sleep, but she let her mind visit the subject anyway.

The reasons for the end of it had never been spoken. Sheba had no idea still why Jenna would become distant, then affectionate, then distant again. The guilty answer was with Jenna and Jenna alone. There was something she had selfishly kept from Sheba.

_What would happen if I told her now?_ She thought. Sheba would hate her, despise her.

-----

This was all wrong; what was wrong with her? Why was she going insane over an animal? These were only hunters! She didn't mean to kill them!

Lightning struck the ground as many times as the shafts had struck the deer. Three angry white bolts lit up the scene, one right after the other, in a fantastic display of Sheba's power. The white flashes were almost blinding.

They fell just before the hunting dogs as electric guardians of the doe's corpse. With the first flash, the dogs were scrambling back the way they came, charging at their masters. The hunters, who had been late in their decision to flee from the awesome display, ran from their dogs, mad with fear.

It was just Sheba and the doe now. The lightning bolts were gone. Sounds of yelling and barking echoed in the air, which smelled like singed grass.

Her head was clear again. What had just happened? It wasn't one of her episodes because she was aware of what was going on, but something had definitely not been right. Something deep inside her had burned once she'd seen the doe killed. Why? Sheba had never hunted, having distaste for blades, but had accompanied Felix sometimes when he'd hunted, even eaten the kill. In fact, Sheba was planning on hunting for food herself on this insane trip to Vale.

She was scared again. She felt cold, too. She remembered that she was naked and wet.

"Oh," she said, blushing slightly and looking at her pale body. As she swan across the river towards the bank where her clothes were, she was filled with humiliation, remembering that the boy had seen her. Some of the red water flowed in her path. She shuddered.

She climbed out of the water, shaking some water off herself, and glanced back at the scorches in the grass and the dead deer. She'd controlled the lightning to avoid killing the dogs or setting fire to the grass. But still…what had just happened was so queer, so wrong. She wished very badly that she could take it back.

She was still cold and wet. Her only clothes were wet, too. Sheba wished she had Mars Psynergy then. She remembered Jenna's warm skin. Rather than push thought of Jenna out of her head as Sheba usually did, she allowed herself to think of the Mars Adept as she continued on her way, shivering.

- --

_Since that night in Contigo, it had been difficult trying to find any time alone now that the group had expanded to nine people on one Lemurian ship. Even so, they'd managed to find excuses to do chores together so they could spend time together. Sheba had never felt so excited since she'd discovered she could do Psynergy. It was like having your own supply of sunshine. Jenna was so lively and warm. Sheba loved how Jenna's face would alight with enthusiasm whenever she spoke. The weeks they spent going all over the Western Sea felt almost like minutes. It was like Jenna had made Sheba a Lemurian. _

_And then it was a frozen night on the Northern Sea as the ship slowly made its way through the chilling water and icebergs. Jenna and Sheba finally had some time to themselves. They sat atop the cabin, bundled in blankets, talking and watching their fogged breath. Sheba loved how at night on the ship, it was like the sky was a black blanket. The wind, which had been rough during the day, was clam now. It was terribly cold. Sheba had to keep sniffing to keep her nose from running._

_Piers was steering the ship. His back was to them. Above them in the crow's nest was Issac, bundled up and hugging several Mars Djinn to stay warm. They didn't matter; Jenna was huddled so very close to Sheba in an attempt to keep her warm. The Mars Adept didn't need so much bundling because her element generally protected her from suffering too much in extreme temperatures. Having recently learned Blaze, Jenna kept making little fires blast in the air for their amusement. When the fire illuminated her face, Jenna looked so beautiful. Sheba rested her head on the Mars Adept's shoulder. A strange calm overcame her. She suddenly felt as though time had stopped._

_The calm was broken by a call from Isaac:_

_"Hey! We've reached the wall!"_

_Jenna stopped Casting and exchanged excited looks with Sheba._

_"The Magma Ball!" she squealed excitedly. Isaac slid down the ladder past them, leaving the Mars Djinn in the crows nest, and headed into the cabin. Shortly after, the cabin door burst open and everyone was on deck, crowding around the cannon. Jenna and Sheba climbed down the ladder and joined them. Kraden was chatting excitedly with Ivan about the theory of the Magma Ball._

_"Somebody help me drop anchor!" shouted Piers. Isaac quickly went to help him and they both returned. Everyone looked around._

_"Who's got it, the Magma Ball?" asked Mia._

_Garet cursed and ran inside. Everyone stood shivering, waiting. Garet dashed out, a small boulder in his arms, and stationed himself at the cannon. He stood there panting as Kraden readied the cannon, then Garet loaded it. Everyone held their breath. Jenna grinned._

_"Blaze!"_

_A flame rushed up the fuse. There was a deafening BOOM and people jumped out of the way as the cannon flew backward._

_Like a fireball, the Magma Ball shot through the air and smashed into the wall of ice. There was en enormous explosion. The sky was alight with fire as the Magma Ball unleashed its awesome Mars power. A beautiful explosion of fire engulfed the ice._

_Sheba was suddenly seized by her back and enveloped in a passionate kiss. Sheba's heart bounded so hard she wondered if it would beat itself out of her chest. Jenna's right arm was wrapped tightly around her and her other arm was stroking Sheba's right arm. The moment seemed to last an eternity. The explosion of the Magma Ball and the ship were lost to them. All Sheba would care to take notice of was the bliss of Jenna's warm skin and Jenna's sweet, moist lips meeting her own for the first time._

_When at last they broke apart, Jenna was grinning broadly._

_"Damn, I love fire," she said triumphantly. Everyone, who, Sheba suddenly realized with a swooping sensation in her stomach had been watching, laughed._

_Sheba tensed herself to sense their reactions. All the other Adepts could really do was stare at them. Felix looked as though he was trying very hard to maintain a stoic expression. She heard Garet whisper to Isaac 'told ya', and then Sheba realized that Kraden had been doubled over laughing the entire time. And suddenly, Sheba couldn't help it. She and Jenna exchanged looks and laughed and laughed. Jenna led her into the cabin, giggling madly, leaving the rest of the group out in the cold, and closed the door behind them. As soon as the door closed, Sheba seized Jenna's face and they kissed again._

---

Sheba was jarred from her thoughts by someone calling her name. She looked around to see a horse-drawn train of three wagons ahead of her. Standing before it, calling to her, was Ivan. He was taller now, though he was still short in stature, with shorter hair than before.

"Ivan!" she exclaimed in surprise, and dashed to him. They hugged.

"What're you doing here?" she asked him excitedly.

"I was on my way to see you!" he said, beaming. He gestured for her to come on, lifting a curtain for her to climb on. Sheba clambered on and entered. Inside, it was cooler. Merchandise was stuffed in crates neatly stacked on one wall, while there was a comfortable sitting area on the other. She made herself comfortable as Ivan climbed in after her. He sat down beside her, grinning.

"It's so good to see you!" Sheba said, beaming. The dark moments that had hung over her like a cloud were lifted for now with this pleasant surprise.

Ivan beamed back at her and instructed the driver to turn from Tolbi and head back, saying they could put off trading with Suhulla for another day; other arrangements had just been made.

"I decided to get some business done in this part of the area for Hammet while I was out here, but since I found you sooner…. Well, I'm not going to make you stay in Suhulla for a few days," said Ivan.

Sheba was very grateful for this. A day back near that desert would be like a day in Hell for her.

They began to move. Sheba could feel that they were turning. The other side of their part of the wagon train had the drape lifted up so that one could get a nice view.

"So tell me what's going on, Ivan," said Sheba, feeling very happy now that she was off the road and with a friend.

Ivan then told her what news he knew of the other Adepts, and then told her excitedly about how he'd been helping Hammet with business for a while, but now he was going to move in with his sister in Contigo.

"…and I want you all to come and stay in Contigo for a few days, you know, to visit. We haven't seen each other in ages," he said.

Sheba was filled with happiness.

"I'd love to go!" she said, and then remembered that the clothes on her back were all she had. She frowned.

Ivan didn't seem to notice. He was staring at the ceiling, smiling to himself, arms behind his head.

"So, what were you doing so far from Lalivero?" he asked, looking at her now. Suddenly, all of Sheba's troubles rushed back at her, like an angry hoard.

"I was just going to Vale. To visit, you know," she replied blandly. Ivan looked at her skeptically. She could tell what was on his mind, but said nothing. There was silence, and then Ivan said:

"Wait a minute…where are your things? You can't have walked this far without a pack. Did we leave them back where I picked you up?"

Sheba felt miserable and sick as she pushed away the recollection of reading the mind of the woman in Suhulla. She didn't want Ivan to find any of that out.

"The desert took them," she said, sighing, and tried not to think about her poor staff, probably smashed to splinters by the Suhulla Desert's winds. Ivan gave her a look of suspicion again. He knew that she was powerful enough to control rough Suhullan winds, but Sheba was grateful that Ivan did not press her.

"When we get to Kalay, then, you can replace anything you've lost," he said.

"But I haven't any money," said Sheba, "The desert took everything."

Ivan smiled.

"Sheba, I wouldn't charge you," he said. Sheba protested, but he insisted. She gazed out to see that they were making their way along the Karagol Sea. It glimmered in the mid-morning sunlight. Sheba could see a handful of ships making their way across it in the distance. She smiled again.

The horses pulled their wagons further and further through the scenery as Ivan and Sheba chatted on and on. Sheba was feeling so much like herself again, she barely stand being so happy.

---

Jenna strolled across the grass, licking her fingers from her late breakfast. She decided to put off all of her chores and errands for the day until later. For now, she would take a walk. As she made her way to the plaza, she ran into Isaac, who was clutching an envelope. The Venus Adept's eyes widened at her approach.

"Oh," he said, "I was just looking for you."

"Well, here I am," said Jenna, "What's that you've got there? Is Mia writing to you every day now? Does Garet know?"

Isaac ignored her teasing.

"It's a letter from Ivan addressed to the four of us," he said, indicating the envelope in his hand. Jenna raised her eyebrows.

"Oh," she said, "I'll fetch Felix." Isaac said he'd find Garet.

By the time they were all in the same place, it was about lunch, and so Jenna suggested they all have lunch at her house. They agreed, and so Jenna quickly prepared some sandwiches and fruit as the boys waited at the table.

"It couldn't be personal letters," said Isaac, "Otherwise, he'd just address them separately."

"Open it," said Garet as Jenna served lunch and sat with them.

"It's an invitation, I think," said Jenna as Isaac opened the envelope and unfolded the enclosed letter, "Wouldn't it be great to see Ivan again?"

----

After a few hours, they were in Kalay. They passed busy streets full of merchants and pedestrians, some of whom peered inside at Sheba and Ivan with interest.

Ivan swallowed. He suddenly seemed nervous.

"Sheba, there's something I haven't told you," he said, looking at the floor.

"What?" she asked.

Ivan took a deep breath.

"After a few days, everyone will be on their way home from Contigo. Um, you don't have to, but I wonder of you'd stay a little longer once everyone else has left?" he asked apprehensively, looking at her from the corner of his eye. Sheba had no idea why he was asking this.

"I don't mind," she said, "but why do you want me to stay with you after everyone's left?"

"Well, Sheba," said Ivan, taking another deep breath, "I'm going to see if I can find out…about my father. And I want you to come with me."

Sheba gaped at him.

"Your father?" she asked. Ivan nodded.

"And I, I also think," he said slowly, "That there could be answers in Contigo for you as well."

"For me?" she asked. Sheba knew Ivan meant where she came from, but Sheba had already asked around, even read a few minds, and no one had given her the slightest clue that she might be from Contigo.

"I know when we left Contigo, you said you still didn't know about where you came from, but there has to be something. You have traits, Sheba, that point towards Atteka at least. Maybe if we both look, together, we could—could…," he hesitated, "Find your parents, too."

Sheba felt numb. She stared at Ivan. She swallowed. Ivan opened his mouth to say something, but closed it.

"I…" Sheba's voice failed her.

"Well, you don't have to, like I said. I just thought…." Ivan trailed off.

"No, I'll help you find your dad, but as for me, my…I have to think about it, Ivan," said Sheba.

Ivan cleared his throat.

"Uh, so, as for how the move is going to work, I'm getting a normal boat prepared that will take us and all of our things to the inlet. The boat will stay docked until everyone has to leave; Hammet wants to get some trading done in Contigo, too," he said, "And I've sent letters everywhere except to you. I expect to get responses any day now. I didn't write you, though. I thought I'd visit and then ask you when I felt the time was right, but then I bumped into you between Tolbi and Suhulla, so…" he said and continued talking on and on.

Sheba was only half-listening. All she could think about was the image in her mind of a baby plummeting to earth. Who was responsible, she wondered? Attekans, as Ivan suspected, or the gods, as the superstitious villagers had whispered excitedly? After Contigo, Sheba had given up on finding out about where she came from; after all, she'd been all over the world. This had left a gap that Kraden and Jenna had helped fill in different ways, but now Ivan had reopened it. Loneliness gaped inside her, though she was with her good friend and she would see more of her friends soon. Sheba almost hated Ivan now.

---

"Oh, was I right, or wasn't I?" asked Jenna triumphantly. She rounded on her brother.

"We're going, aren't we?" she asked him. He nodded. "Yes!"

Garet was sharing her excitement.

"Let's go today!" he said.

"Yeah!"

"If we have any errands to do, I'd finish them before packing," said Felix, "Then we can say good-bye to our parents." They nodded.

Isaac looked amused.

"I haven't finished the letter," he said, chuckling.

"Finish it!" barked Garet and Jenna together.

---

"_Whatever this is…"_

When Isaac finished, Jenna felt less excited. They were going to Contigo. Jenna didn't want to go back there after what happened with Sheba, and because of a secret she despised herself for keeping.

_"Whatever this is, we both know it's over."_

"Jenna," said Isaac, "Is something wrong?"

_Where had they taken that wrong turn? It used to be so different, such a strong connection, like magnetism. Now, they were miles apart._

"What? No. I forget, did he say everyone else was invited, too?" asked Jenna.

_With that sentence, what had been unofficial became official. They were free. Neither of them was happy about it. _

Isaac glanced at the letter.

"Uh, yeah."

_Sheba had seemed so distant, so afraid lately. Jenna didn't understand why. It was like Sheba had locked a door in heart her and refused to open it._

"Excellent," replied Jenna.

_Jenna had become the same way. Every time she looked at that heart-shaped face, there was a pang of guilt mixed with a burst of adoration. She tried convincing herself that she never told Sheba because the time was never right, but she knew that was mostly a lie. How could she be so selfish? Sheba had the right to know. _

_ Jenna wondered if anyone had told her parents about her and Sheba. They gave no indication, and since it was over, Jenna didn't see the point in telling them. Once everyone was reunited in the ruins of Vale and Mount Aleph, it was nice to have a distraction from ending it with Sheba. There was awkwardness between them during the several weeks of festivities, but it hadn't mattered. They were all together again. They had saved the world._

_Jenna felt that she was somehow responsible for Sheba being the first one to go home. Once the excitement of everyone being reunited was gone, it seemed that Sheba wanted to avoid everyone. Eventually, she left._

As they all parted in their separate ways in order to prepare for leaving later, Jenna thought about seeing Sheba again. Would Sheba come to Contigo? Surely, she would. She had no friends, no other Adepts in Lalivero. Of course she'd miss all of them. It would be silly not to go just to avoid Jenna. But if she came, what would Jenna do if she did?

And then Jenna decided. On the last night before leaving Contigo, Jenna would tell Sheba the secret she'd been meant to hear a long time ago. Contigo. It almost felt like destiny.

--

IOE: That's all, folks! Arrrgh, I vowed to myself that this fic would NOT involve a reunion of the Adepts! But then as I was writing the scene with Ivan, I was like 'Oh no! I have to, otherwise these things that I need to make happen won't happen!' So I apologize for the cliché of the gang coming back together. Kill my life. Why wasn't Kraden invited? Because I hate him.

Anyway, I can't believe I'm continuing to write this fic during the school year! This is great! PLEASE REVIEW! I've never written romance scenes like the ones I had to do in this fic, so I'm really anxious. They feel so mushy and over-the-top to me! I hate mushy and over-the-top! Argh! I like the romance stuff I do in my GS one-shots! Blah, anyway, please review.


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